CSGO developer Valve has introduced a new ‘Trust Factor’ matchmaking system into the game, which matches players based on similar behaviour patterns through Steam.
It expands on last year’s Prime Matchmaking system, which initially matched players who linked CSGO with a unique phone number, and later required in-game experience (at least rank 21).
The new system will still require you to provide your number and enable Steam authentication to be eligible. If you already have a verified Prime account then your details will automatically be transferred to the new system.
On the official CSGO blog, Valve said it’s been experimenting with matching players using observed behaviors and attributes of their Steam account, including the overall amount of time they had spent playing CSGO, how frequently they were reported for cheating, time spent playing other games on their Steam account and more.
“We call this system Trust, and these factors considered together form a player’s Trust Factor,” Valve said. “The results of the experiment have been positive. In matches created using Trust Factor, most players ended up generating fewer reports regardless of their Prime status.
“The more you play, the more information the system has and the easier it will be for the system to determine who you should be matched with.”
Valve
“All you need to do [to improve your Trust Factor] is be a positive member of the CSGO and Steam community.
“We’re still iterating on the Trust Factor model and adjusting the way various factors are combined, but we want to make sure that all you have to do to improve your matchmaking experience is continue to play CSGO and other Steam games legitimately.
“The more you play, the more information the system has and the easier it will be for the system to determine who you should be matched with.”
Players will now by default enter matchmaking using their Trust Factor rather than their Prime status. Those with Prime status can choose to match using the old system for the time being.
However, there are still some blurred lines with the Trust Factor system. There are factors that are unknown to the public, so some players are wary of using the new system. Valve is not providing the full list of factors in the Trust Factor matchmaking system, for example.
To get some thoughts on the new Trust Factor matchmaking system, we took to Twitter and asked some people from the UK community for their thoughts.
At present it kinda makes no sense, what with both prime and trust being available so nobody knows if they’re gonna get better games with prime or with trust enabled – when they turn it off I think itll be ok as long as it doesnt weigh reports as heavily as hours + abandons etc
— Joseph Massie (@_NeonSky) November 16, 2017
It’s what the game has been needing, people were buying burner SIM cards just to authenticate Smurf accounts where as now you are paired with people that have matching hours and more than one game which is really really sick.
— Lord Anthony Robert Neggies English of Sealand (@dyslexicunt) November 15, 2017
I guess a step in the right direction, but yeah.. still 64tick so no one is really going to play it
— Andrew Smith (@Dev_Andyroo) November 15, 2017
First game I played on it and then was a guy with aim lock, so don’t have the best opinion. But tbf this is why I don’t play mm
— Zack (@Chillblast_cZer) November 15, 2017
Others have a more negative view on the new Trust Factor system:
New trust factor matchmaking has more hacker/smurf than the previous matchmaking. @csgo_dev :). I’ve sent countless report with the link of the replay to ban the suspected hacker yet non of them get banned. #ripcsgo
— Scott Stifler (@iNexusFANBOY95) November 19, 2017
This trust factor is shit @csgo_dev getting matched with 200 hour noobs because I always use discord and the times I use in game chat is to ask them why the hell they play so stupidly. This trust thing is broken as hell
— Komodo | Dion (@KMDODRGN) November 19, 2017
trust factor sucks right now, I get into games with 3+ cheaters.
csgo isn’t even fun to play right now :/
— FaZe Hoppin (@Hoppin) November 15, 2017
‘A good concept but there are uncertainties’
Comment by Serdil Kaya
The opinions show there are uncertainties with this new matchmaking system, and can explain why the use of third-party matchmaking services like ESEA and FaceIt have been on the rise.
There are still issues regarding how the system actually matches people, for example matching players with similar hours could create a skill gap within these matches. For example, two players could have a similar amount of hours played, but they can be two very different ranks compared to each other – and so these matches may be unfair.
Valve’s Trust Factor matchmaking is a good concept. But to make this a fairer system, they must make sure it doesn’t weigh hours played and Steam activities too heavily, as this may cause a divide in the players participating in the new system and put people off matchmaking.