For the past few years, skill-based matchmaking (SBMM) has been a hotly debated topic among the Call Of Duty community.
SBMM, for those who might not be familiar, is a system that automatically assesses the skill level of each player, pairing them up with other players of a similar skill level. The point of this is obvious: it tends to stop hardcore Call Of Duty veterans from dropping into games with newcomers and completely wiping them out.
From the side of the newcomers, this is a good thing. Nobody wants to get destroyed over and over again by players with hundreds of hours under their belt. The idea behind SBMM is that you can learn and get better with players of a similar skill level. The better you get, the more you'll run into experienced players.
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It's not a perfect system, unfortunately. The most-skilled players, for example, complain they don't want to have be on top of their game all the time and that get put into matches with other pro-level players constantly can be exhausting. Similarly, mid-level players can still end up in matches far too intense to be enjoyable.
Fortunately, it seems there's a method that can allow players to drop into "easier" lobbies that doesn't require any kind of third-party software or complicated techniques. YouTuber JGOD (thanks, Charlie Intel) has explained how to find easier lobbies legitimately and safely in a detailed Reddit thread.
JGOD's post is immensely detailed and dives into the multiple factors that dictate SBMM. If you really want to understand why SBMM is the way it is, I'd fully urge you to read the entire post. But while the YouTuber dives into the numerous reasons behind the system working in the way it does, there is at least one fairly simple action you can take to adjust the difficulty of a Call Of Duty lobby comes down to the time you play the game.
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Simply put, JGOD explains that SBMM is "at its strictest from 8pm to 2am and gets toned down massively from 3am to 7am (all local time), hugely impeding the competitive integrity of time zone spanning Warzone tournaments."
In other words, mornings are a statistically easier time of day to play, while evenings provide the most challenge. It's an incredible insight, and one that may come in handy for players looking to tone the challenge down a little. The only real catch is that this might not line up brilliantly with your work schedule, but next time you have a day off or a free weekend? Try this out and see if the battle royale becomes any easier for you.
Featured Image Credit: ActivisionTopics: Call of Duty: Warzone, GAMING, News, Activision