I have the same exact experience as you my friend. I am also .8 with all 3 characters. One major thing that happens is the damage referee. The first game I play everyday I know I am going to do good. Always positive kd. So I play and get like a 1.7 kd. Everyone seems to be easy to find and kill. It only takes a few shots to kill someone as it should. Next game here comes the damage referee, even if I am playing the same opponents. I did good the first game so the damage referee comes out and nerfs me. Now I am slower and it takes a full clip of shooting someone to even take their shield down. I think it's more of a matter of the damage referee than sbmm/cbmm. But yeah I have the same experience. Really good game followed by really bad games then throw in a really good game again. It is rare to have a few consistent matches but does happen sometimes.

The WAY its being done is the issue. The problem is that p2p connections are unstable and very dependant upon the local internet infrastructure.... ...and Bungie's algorithms for MM are TOO TIGHT for the size of the population playing PVP. algorithms CAN be written that BALANCE both skill level and connection quality

at this point, why can't we just have a choice on each game type? Like we do for strikes. In strikes I get normal, or heroic. I would love to pick a rumble match and get to choose between SBMM or, CBMM. Letting me control my experience better. If I choose CBMM I know I have a chance of going up against elites but, I know I also have a chance of NOT experiencing lag and other BS. If I choose SBMM I know I take the chance against going against the same elites now, with Lag thrown in. Yet, there is that small chance of getting a match with morons. Let us players decide how we want our experience to be. I am tired of the experience being controlled to the point where I am seriously rethinking the entire game. It's NOT FUN anymore. I want to have some FUN again.

Except for the fact that latency can be easily manipulated. A person can matchmake green and go yellow/red the moment the action starts. They can stream on other devices and slow their connection. I see people that I know in real life hop into the tower and go yellow/red and I know they are less than 5 miles away and have the same tier internet that I do--- it's 60 meg and it's the best tier available in the area. One thing that many people overlook is an underlying symptom... A few years ago, there were still unlimited data plans. Now, most phone companies charge for data or throttle unlimited plans. This issue has caused more people to wi-fi their phones to their home network to avoid extra data charges. This, in turn, has stressed internet connections in households where eight or more devices can be accessing the net simultaneously.

Yeah, I can see how people buying inferior internet is an issue. It's their issue. Bungie needs to ban those accounts from PVP and respect those of us who have purchased Premium internet plans. Not punish us for those who are too cheap to do so.

Beause if you divide up the player base too thinly then NO ONE gets a good experience. Because the pool of players to draw from gets too small.

you mean exactly what is happening right now thanks to SBMM??

No. Becaues I'm only a top 20% player...and I experience NONE of the things that the elite players keep complaining about. Yes there is some lag...but that is because of the P2P networking....and it isn't every match. Yes, the matches sometimes take awhile...but that is beause overall player numbers are down. The issue of SBMM in FPS is like taxes in politics. IN politics you always hear rich people (and their surrogates) arguing about how taxes are bad for everyone, and that taxes are bad for the economy. Which simply isn't true. Taxes simply aren't in the interests of people who are ALREADY rich. They don't need the things that taxes pay for---because they can buy them themselves----and taxes SLOW the rate that their investments and business endeavors make them RICHER. The truth is that if you're middle-class or below....a reasonable, progressive tax system is good for you. If you're poor, it is your best friend. Because---well-structured----it takes excess wealth at the top.....reinvests it in public services and human talents at the mid and lower tiers of society....and rasies the living standards of everyone. Elite plaeyrs...and playes who are regional or time-of-day outliers argue against SBMM because it is not in THEIR personal interests to have them. Streamers don't look dominant when they have to play people of their own skill level. They certainly can't give up a spot to carry a weaker player through Trials. YT content creators find those montage videos harder to make, because they arent' dominating weaker players. OTOH, unless you live somewhere where there are very few people who live near you....or you play at some bizzare time of day....then you should see NO change in your connection quality. Likewise, unless you are an elite player....or a low skill player...you should see little change in the quality of the player you're facing. The only time I've ever seen what the streamers and the YTers complain about was two weeks ago during IB. I had a day off from work...after working overnight the night before....and I spent the day relaxing and playing. Yes I was seeing laggy matches. Yes I was getting matched to people in the Caribbean and South America. [i] But I was playing at a time of day when a large number of the people who likely play this game in my part of the country were either working, or away from their console doing other things. [/i] Which is when a lot of these streamers RUN THEIR BUSINESSES. YES. Businesses. Don't forget that. These guys like to loll people into thinking they're "average gamers". But they're not. They are small business owners...and the (successful ones) think and ACT like them. So what is in THEIR interests, aren't necessarily going to be in YOURs. SBMM and CBMM are not an al-or-nothing situation. Just like taxes (in reality) arent'. You want tax rates high enough that your government gets the resources its needs to operate, and you dn't have piles of money sitting at the top of society doing nothing of value. (Third world) Countries where that occurs are well known for hteir crushing poverty. But by the same token you don't rates so high that there is little incentive to generate an income above a certain level because it all gets consumed in taxes. Likewise you don't wan't pure CBMM, because you create a situation where new and low-skill players get abused...and simply run out of the game. (I believe this is the real reason why the CoD franchise is stagnating). OTOH, playing matches where shots arent' registering, and people are teleporting all over the place isn't ANYONE's idea of fun. But you can write MM protocols where you prioritize SB matches, while you monitor connection quality. Below the level where ping times (latency) causes a deterioration in game performance? Prioritize skill. Once you reach that threshold....loosen the SBMM criteria and expand the pool of acceptable matches. IOW, start to prioritize connection quality. That way the average player gets to play against people of their own skill level...and the talent-based or geographical outliers still get reasonable connections and an acceptable play experience. But---as I said earlier---this fuss over SBMM isn'r REALLY about lag. Its about channel viewership and KD ratios. Mtashed put out a video on this a couple months ago, and rightly called out his fellow elite players on this...and the fact that all the elite players are seeing their KD numbers drop in Year 2.

Good post If I understood correctly, what you suggested at the bottom of your post was a hybrid system which segregated players on skill towards the lower end of play (most of the time people don't see lag there or the slight lag is not so important because of the low skill level) and as people progress, widen the skill ranges in the MM groups and prioritise connection more. Good idea. Not sure whether it will just punish mid-skill players (just I the band where connection takes priority) who will face a wide range of skills in their matches but not have lower level players to kill (as they will be segregated based on skill) The top tier players (Youtubers and streamers who do this for a living) should realise that new players need to be attracted to the game and be encouraged to play. Without these players the game will slowly die and so will their income from YT / streaming / carries. If the game has too high a learning curve for new players then their businesses will suffer and die as well. If they complain too much about the system, it will also put off new players and it will have the same effect.

I checked your stats you're NOT a top 20% player, I didn't bother to read through the entire rambling mess. I just skimmed it. The fact is SBMM sucks! The other part that we are seeing lagging matches because, we aren't playing at peak times is crap. I log on at 6pm eastern time until 11pm eastern every night. That is prime east coast gaming time. I am NOT in some po'dunk town. I live in a major metropolitan area that has a significant destiny community as we are hosting a Major Con for it that sold out inside of 3 days a year ago. So, I know I should be seeing locals but, I am NOT I was in a match 2 days ago 8 times in a row where all the opposing players were in friggin mexico. NO WHERE NEAR ME. Unless you consider a 4000 mile trip near me.

Your response is the rambling mess. While a long read for the Internet, the person you were responding to framed their thoughts well and communicated effectively.

What do taxes have anything to do with the game? If you think that was well though out and communicated effectively I would request a refund from the College you attended.

Are you unable to follow a simple analogy?

http://destinytracker.com/destiny/character/ps/kellygreen45/2305843009261346677 You're lack of attention to detail is disturbing. So I'm not surprised you failed to read through an idea that took more than 144 characters to express. TLDR: These are the current stats for my Titan. The character that best reflects my current level of play. By the way, I've seen your Crucible stats. Trust me. The LAST thing you want is for them to put an end to SBMM. Just sayin'.