Ever since it came out a few weeks ago, Gears 5 has taken over my gaming life. Most days, I’ll play a few matches of Gears 5 ranked multiplayer, decide I should take a break and exit out of the game, then stare at my game library for a few minutes before I just decide to boot it up 5 yet again. It might be my game of the year, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun with a competitive shooter. However, it seems like something weird is going on with the ranking system.
Inconsistent Ranking
Basically, it seems like Gears 5 has a weird ranking system when it comes to Ranked Team Deathmatch. For just one example, the other day I was playing ranked versus, and I slipped to the top 81% of my rank at one point. I then had two games where my team won and I was the overwhelming MVP, and my rank stayed exactly in the top 81% after each game. I then had two games where I played so-so but my team won, and my rank still stayed exactly at 81%. This seems wrong, especially since my rank percentile usually seems to change after every single game.
Invisible Rank Corrections?
Based on my experience, I think that Gears 5 occasionally has invisible rank corrections, like other games do. What I mean by an invisible rank correction is a change in rank that is done over the course of a few games instead of immediately. In other words, Gears 5 might decide that I should be ranked lower or higher than I currently am, but instead of just changing my rank in between sessions, they do it over the course of a few games where my performance doesn’t really matter.
Invisible rank corrections like this can be frustrating. Sure, it would be frustrating to log in and see that your rank has changed out of nowhere, but it’s probably more frustrating to feel like your game performance is irrelevant (for a few matches, at least). I don’t really have any solutions to this problem or anything, I just needed to get this off my chest.
Anyways, Gears 5 is a phenomenal game, and the ranking system is already more transparent than most ranking systems, since they show you your percentile within each rank instead of just your rank. I just wish it was a tiny bit more transparent. Anyways, happy playing, and I hope to see you on the battlefield!
