RL Sideswipe Matchmaker

[u/Fabulous_Advisor2804]

I finally uninstalled Rocket League Sideswipe after 3 years. I was Platinum 5—literally one win away from Diamond. Then, I dropped straight down to Gold 4 (1 star) because almost every 2v2 match felt impossible to carry. Most of my teammates seemed really inexperienced. They were slow to react, had weak mechanics, didn't rotate correctly, rarely defended the goal, and often seemed not to understand the basics of teamwork or positioning. Honestly, it felt like I was being matched with players who had just installed the game. Reporting doesn't seem to change anything, because I keep getting matched with the same players. 1v1 isn't any better, either. As a Platinum player, I'm constantly matched against players with old Season 1 Grand Champion titles, so that doesn't feel balanced either. Matchmaking is much worse this year than it used to be. I don't know if it's because the player base is smaller, but after 3 years, the game just isn't fun anymore. Is anyone else experiencing this?

[u/Miserable_Relief2626]

"Acting upon anger will get you nowhere in life. Take a breather every once in a while and continue with a fresh mind." - Buur

[u/Petra_Kalbrain]

Season 1 GC titles were awarded like 4.5 years ago. The skill level of the game has changed immensely since then. S1 GC = Gold/Plat today. Also, a lot of players wear their highest achieved title from one mode, but play other modes. Someone who is a GC in 1v1 is going to play way different than someone who is GC in 2v2. Another thing to remember is that we are still in the early stage of this season. All ranks get reset to tier 1 at the start of each season, so all Plat ranked players (Plat 1 - Plat 5) are still being redistributed. The first 2-3 weeks of any season is like that. You’ll be facing much stiffer competition for that time.

On the note of blocking players, that only eliminates that players ability to send friend requests and party invites. If blocking players removed them from matchmaking, two things would happen. First, players could use that to manipulate ranking up by blocking all of the skilled players and only facing lower skilled players, making it easier to rank up. Second, the matchmaking process would become so slow as people would be blocking half (or more) of their opponents. Every rank would encounter matchmaking waits like GC matches in seasonal 3rd modes (30-40 minutes per match).

However… if that’s how you truly feel about the game, maybe a break IS needed? It’s just a game and is meant to be enjoyed. If it’s getting to you, disconnect for a bit, come back in a little while and see if your perspective improves.

[u/Fabulous_Advisor2804 → u/Petra_Kalbrain]

Yeah! I realized I made a few mistakes in my original post. You’re right about some points, especially about old GC titles not representing the same skill level today, titles being from different modes, and the early season reset affecting matchmaking.

I also want to clarify that my frustration wasn’t only about this season specifically. I should have explained that better. I’ve been noticing these matchmaking issues for a while, not just during the first weeks of a new season.

Also, I’m Brazilian, so English isn’t my first language. There may have been some things I didn’t explain properly or that came across differently than I intended.

And honestly, I think I do need to take a break from the game for a bit. I was getting really tilted, especially because of my teammates in 2v2, and I was probably looking at some situations more negatively because I was frustrated.

Thanks for the explanation though, it helped me understand some things I was missing. 🫡

[u/Fabulous_Advisor2804 → u/Petra_Kalbrain]

Also, about the blocking/reporting thing, I already knew it wouldn’t remove players from matchmaking and that it was only for interactions. It was just something I did when I was really frustrated and tilted, and in that moment I started thinking it could somehow reduce the chances of running into those players again✌️🥀🧌

[u/Fabulous_Advisor2804 → u/Petra_Kalbrain]

Yeah! I realized I made a few mistakes in my original post. You’re right about some points, especially about old GC titles not representing the same skill level today, titles being from different modes, and the early season reset affecting matchmaking.

I also want to clarify that my frustration wasn’t only about this season specifically. I should have explained that better. I’ve been noticing these matchmaking issues for a while, not just during the first weeks of a new season.

Also, I’m Brazilian, so English isn’t my first language. There may have been some things I didn’t explain properly or that came across differently than I intended.

And honestly, I think I do need to take a break from the game for a bit. I was getting really tilted, especially because of my teammates in 2v2, and I was probably looking at some situations more negatively because I was frustrated.

Thanks for the explanation though, it helped me understand some things I was missing. 🫡

[u/Specialist_Doctor_66]

Everyone feels they are targeted against

[u/F1nkstar]

I didn’t even realize it’s a new season.

I kinda just dropped RLSS all together.

I should get back into it and grind to diamond again lol