Hi everyone,
I’m writing this post to share my extreme frustration regarding the current state of matchmaking and overall game balance in casual / Quick Matches.
Today I hit my absolute limit: 10 losses in a row. Not due to a lack of effort, but because of a system that seems fundamentally unable to create balanced or enjoyable games.
The main issues ruining the experience right now are:
Total team imbalance: Far too often I get paired with teammates who are clearly beginners or completely unaware of basic mechanics, playing against well-coordinated stacks.
Low-level smurfs: I keep running into players with low-level profiles who clearly possess expert-level build orders, micro, and macro skills.
Brainless unit spam (Cavalry/Camel massing): On top of the matchmaking, the meta in casual games often devolves into players mindlessly spamming 100+ cavalry or camels and A-moving them across the map. It requires almost no tactical variety, yet it becomes extremely oppressive to deal with when playing with uncoordinated random teammates.
Age of Empires is a great game, but it has a brutal snowball effect: if a teammate collapses early or if there’s a massive skill gap, there is virtually no way to come back in game. This turns 30 to 40-minute matches into a slow, agonizing drag, leaving you with nothing but frustration.
I understand Quick Matches are meant to be casual, but that shouldn’t mean they have to be an unfair coin toss or a cavalry raid simulator. We need a stricter matchmaking algorithm that accurately factors in real player skill.
Are you guys experiencing the same thing lately? How do you deal with mass cavalry spam when queuing with random teammates?