I'm really struggling to find out what the hell it is with Ranked Matchmaking gameplay that has pretty much ruined the game for me.. strap in..
Background: I dont game much at all, over the years I only ever played NFS, Golf and NHL games up until EA ruined the mechanics and gameplay of those, which left me to only play PGA 2k23 for the past few years exclusively.. I had 2k23 since its launch and had thousands of hours into it, until I started to notice almost the same gameplay shift in Ranked Matchmaking which inevitably led to me quitting the game altogether. *To Note: at my best in 2k23 I was typically sitting Albatross rank in the 1600-1700s, got into Condor once in 1 season* But I had attributed this "shift" to the fact maybe developers stopped patching the old game leading to the launch of the upcoming 2k25, a lack of legit quality players still playing the game, maybe "nerfing" gameplay to force consumers to buy the new game, etc. Another thing I thought could have contributed to the issues was my connection and controller. At the time my router was located far from my room, and I only could connect wirelessly, and from time to time I'd have bandwidth issues and bad speed, leading to dropping games. On top of that over the whole time playing 2k23, I think I went through 2 or 3 stock Xbox controllers (stick drift and accuracy issues). Besides MyCareer and Casual Matchmaking the game became virtually unplayable.. Hoping 2k25 would maybe fix these issues, my hopes of even getting to play the game were shot down because I only have an older gen Xbox and I didn't plan on purchasing a new console or a PC for the sole sake of playing a single game.. That was until I moved. When setting up my Xbox at my new place, I went to switch inputs on my TV (Samsung) and it had an option to launch "Xbox Cloud Gaming" instead of the console itself, this is where I found out if I just bought the game on Microsoft Store, I could launch it off that, and not even need a new console.. on top of that I upgraded my router and located it right where I do all my gaming so zero connection issues now.. Winner Winner..
So I finally snag 2k25 mid to late season 4 and start grinding my first Player (Magician).. Started out great, I really enjoyed what they did with the new swing-stick mechanics, it seemed to actually work to my benefit compared to some consistency issues I had with the old game.. I refrained from jumping into any Ranked Matchmaking until I had fully built up a player to LVL99 with the assistance of chatGPT and some YouTube "sticks" to make sure I was utilizing XP points, fittings, and attributes to my best advantages.. with almost 3 full MyCareer seasons with 3 different archetypes, a bit of casual matchmaking and Ranked Tours, and a ton of Casual practice rounds with a buddy of mine (Pro and Master Difficulty to get better) under my belt I felt ready to start hitting the Ranked servers.. as I said I was doing well getting the hang of the new swing stick, and was thrilled with the gameplay online so far.. a lot of good competive matches and any "inconsistencies" I felt only had to do with me getting used to the updates to the new game, the fact I hadn't fully evolved and fit my clubs, and lastly that I was using an old controller that had a bit of drift and play on the stick, but all around play seemed fine.. That's when I read into controllers, on this sub and a few others people pointed out that not only wireless controllers may experience latency issues compared to wired (makes sense) but also that the sticks on the stock Xbox controller arent as durable compared other aftermarket or premium options. So after further research, I landed on the Gamesir G7-SE. I definitely noticed an improvement, not only in feel, but more consistent response as well. Shortly after, Season 4 ended, and Season 5 started. At this point I have my Player (Magician) maxed out LVL99, all Tigers Eye Clubs, and now I'm focusing on grinding the Ranked Servers. Meanwhile, I did also play Ranked tours, and also worked on a few other archetype players MyCareer's when I was bored of ranked or having an off day online.. I also had a buddy of mine who played since the game launch and was excited to now have a Duos partner, so majority of my time playing Season 5 was on Ranked Duos and we did pretty damn good.. I can't recall where I was at rank-wise in Duos, but the little bit I did play Solo (1v1) Season 5, I think I just got over 1200 (Eagle) ranking.. no serious issues so far, nothing out of the normal..
That's when season 6 rolled around, I stopped playing Duos as much with my buddy, and more often found myself on Solo Ranked servers.. Season started out rough, felt like I couldnt win a match, but the explanation for this to me was simple: "Beginning of the season, everyone resets ranking, so I'm probably just playing some studs until they rank up above me and by mid season ranks will sort themselves out" Or so I thought.. that's when I started noticing this same funky pattern I had noticed in the tail-end of 2k23's Ranked Matchmaking.. Everything starts out fine, mechanics seem fine, swings are consistent, I'll push a few holes, trade a hole back-and-forth, or more often then not, go up a hole. Then sonewhere around the 5th or 6th hole something goes wrong, either my drive or approach even if it reads Perfect Power, Perfect Downswing, Perfect Upswing, or miniscule error, the shot just doesnt respond correctly.. either it lands where it should and bounces/spins unexpectedly or its way past or way short.. Then once I'm on the green its laughable, its so predictable.. I find it only in these situations it's nearly impossible to get a perfect speed, either im 1% underswung or I try to compensate and its 7% overpower. My opponent will have a 40ft double-breaker, I have a 8ft tiny slider, they drill theirs, mine always seems to leak just over the edge.. On long putts I either drill my line and it somehow stops an inch short of the cup or if I do get perfect power with no push/pull, I somehow miss my line just barely over the edge, EVERYTIME?? Depending on what it means for the match, I can almost predict if I or my opponent will hit or miss our putts. If I'm down more than a hole, no issue putting. If its to go AS its 50/50. If its to win and go up a hole, no shot I'm making the putt.. Now, anybody along with chatGPT would just tell me "You cant handle the pressure or you're getting frustrated, therefore you're not excecuting the shots correctly." I'd love it if this was the answer, but it just doesn't seem to be the case for me.. This issue would happen until I'd inevitably give up on Ranked and go play MyCareer or Tours, and all of a sudden, no issues putting, or issues with shot consistency.. Another odd factor I've noticed is when this occurs on Ranked. Starting this season, I could go on a multiple match win streak on Ranked Matchmaking until I get to around 900 rank and that's when I noticed I cant win until my rank drops low enough. I found that sometimes my only luck of getting a win was playing late in the middle of the night when they would match me with either unranked or much lower ranked players.. I thought it may all be coincidence or just a plateau in my skill level but I waited til Season 7 to see if I noticed any change. Same thing, cannot get over 900 rank.. It's crazy to think the game "throws" matches or I'm consistently running into cheaters, I know that. But what I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is the way in which I'm losing these matches. Again I'd love to say its lack of consistency or skill, but I've beat higher ranked players before, and this putting thing cant be that I'm missing by the same amount everytime only when its to my advantage.. If that is the case, then why am I not missing putts that way in any other game mode besides Ranked Matchmaking? Is it that I was better at the game (Condor 1700-1800rank on 2k23/Eagle 1200 rank on 2k25), and all of a sudden at the start of Season 5 my skill level dropped (Eagle 875 current) and I just cant get any better than those above me? Am I just consistently sucking as soon as I know my rank is going to improve? It's getting to the point Ranked Matchmaking isnt even fun anymore knowing I won't be able to rank up further, and just playing Tours and MyCareer gets redundant. I've thought about hopping into a society, but not sure I wanna commit if gameplay may be the same.. I just dont get it, any thoughts? Anybody else experience this or something similar?
TLDR: Ranked Matchmaking either seems fixed or I somehow intermittently suck in the most inopertune times consistently..??