Lol! So now if you want to Alt+F4 you have to do it in the load screen since ranks are hidden in lobby.
This kind if system only works when people don’t abuse it, so I’m glad early leavers are penalized with temp bans that build in duration the more they do so.
It would be ideal if we got no player information during the loading screen, but it doesn’t bother me when the matchmaking is functioning well. Maybe as people are less able to evade a match we won’t need to consider hiding the rank badges there?
What’s the problem exactly? That matchmaking can be unfair at times?
That’s a separate problem to people dodging at the lobby stage. If it’s even a problem in the first place. Only queue if you want to play, friends. Win or loss.
Take it from me! I don’t play Ranked 
Just so you know:
In ranked multiplayer, every time you start a match, it shows you the name and “rank” of your opponent.
I don’t know exactly when, but at some point, it was discovered that if you leave the lobby by “closing the game” or turning off your internet connection before the match starts with the countdown (15, 14, 13, 12… 4.. 3. 2..), you can cancel it “without fear of losing ranked points.”
This is possible to justify the fact that if someone has “connection problems,” the match is automatically canceled.
Of course, there is penalty of “a few minutes of waiting” (which increases from a few minutes to half an hour) if you do this a lot, but people still take advantage of it for the following reasons:
It wasn’t a secret to almost anyone, except for those who weren’t aware.
HOWEVER, and precisely in Season 10, they plan to make the RANK and NAME of enemies in a Ranked lobby “¿¿¿¿???”, so there’s no excuse to disconnect intentionally or out of fear of a higher ELO opponent.
I think the new changes are for the better.
Litterally all people want is for arranged teams to have a seperate ranked ladder than ranked non-arranged teams. Litterally every modern RTS/MOBA has this lol.
This is so bad, if you want to dodge that toxic player or cheater, now you cant. I would understand hiding rank, but the name? No way. There are players you just DONT want to play with.
This is a bad decision
Dodging games is itself a “toxic” act.
This decision eventually makes AoE 4 consistent with AoE 2, 3 and AoM. And those games are fine without seeing your opponent before the game begins.
but why not at the least let us see player name? again, if that cheater or toxic players is paired with me again, i will dodge with good reason. we all know hackers dont really get that much punished because reddit is filled with cheaters who have tons of games even after having their name displayed in forums…
I think what’s more important is using reporting systems to create a record of someone’s poor behavior.
Toxic players, I’m thinking you’re talking about verbally abusive or griefing behavior, do get acted on with an appropriate level of information in the report. Same thing with hacking.
It sucks to get exposed to it firsthand, but if we rely on leaving games before they start instead of using reports then the moderation system doesn’t get a chance to rid the community of its bullies.
Also, I’ve gotten a pretty decent number of people to add me and group up again for another round. If that doesn’t work there are a lot of community spaces, the official discord for example, that are great for finding partners for team games. Having a pre-organized group takes the guesswork out of matchmaking, and I’ve had infinitely more fun doing that than relying on strangers in solo queue (even before the name/rank hiding).
Yes this solution of “make friends” is nice and weve seen it before.
But this ignores the fundamental principle of ranked ladder games. If your team and my team set out to be the best #1 team, then if my team runs into more non-arranged teams (free wins) than yours, i will be getting #1 before you do.
Then, if say, i want to play with randoms, my skillset that got me to #1 involves discord communication and powerful civ synergies. So i will now be matched in a way that i am the heavyweight ELO on a team of experienced random players who have adapted to using game chat and thinking on the fly, i will perform poorly and ultimately be the reason they lose thier games.
I love how this thread exposes Dodgers. Dodgers will always be dodging, they will find a reason to dodge even if it was balanced to the perfection.
Devs should add even more rank penalty if a player leave a game within first few minutes in team games too.
That’s a longstanding issue with MMR systems though. Rank being based only on wins vs losses is one thing, but a pre-organized group is going to have a more equal rating among team members over time.
If all four members of a team had an average rating of 1300, and only deviated +/- 50 MMR from that, it would be totally different from randomly selected players, where you could have conquerors and golds together with a large range but similar average. This would also mean they gain less points against randomly assigned opponents (and if they lose to the people who are ranked lower, the lower ranked people shoot up in rating).
Also, if the goal is to be #1, both teams would eventually meet on the ladder and whoever is better would just win. As you get higher in rank the points you gain lessen while the points you lose rise. So a team that “cheated” their way to the top would quickly lose rank, especially if they didn’t know when to dodge in lobby (and also dodging would have a larger penalty the higher up they are)
Edit: Being a top dog gamer in teams as a solo queuer is something that is possible, take Magnavozz for example:
From what I’ve seen he almost exclusively solo queues, but keeps on winning even if he has low ranked allies. Truly exceptional players can shine no matter the odds, something I think most solo queue players aspire to accomplish. (I also appreciate that he never blames his teammates, he’s a chill dude)
Because that creates a culture of dodging in first place.
''culture of dodging?" come on… look, the entire saga has it, so in the end there is a dev justification to do it. I dont agree with it, but i admit this is not something they are doing different than what the saga wants for its Online game matchmaking.
I’d argue that consistently dodging games contributes to a negative environment and is part of the overall issue. I understand that matchmaking isn’t always fair that’s a valid concern but it’s not an excuse for this kind of behavior.
Not every match will be perfectly balanced; that’s just the reality of competitive play. Sometimes, you have to roll with it and trust in your team’s potential.
Leaving a game before it even begins, without giving yourself or your team a chance, shows a lack of sportsmanship and should carry consequences. Everyone deserves a fair shot at playing and improving.
With “culture of dodging” I mean that players would then simply decide to Alt+F4 when they see an opponent they don’t want to face which on the other hand creates longer queue times for that person and the likeness to run into someone way below their skill level because that third person just queued up.