Epic explains Gears 2's ranking system

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 19th 2008 at 12:00PM }

Don't understand the Gears of War 2 rank system? Trust us, you are totally not alone. To alleviate some confusion, Gears 2 Community Manager SixOkay (guessing that's a pseudonym) has outlined how the game's ~~inane~~ touched ranking system works. The whole thing uses Microsoft's TrueSkill system, which itself is based on chess' Elo rating system.

The system doesn't just track wins/losses for rank, but also notes what team is favored to win the match. Horde Mode and private matches won't affect rank, but quitting games will lower it. Despite the system lacking the transparency and addictive nature of the CoD4 and Halo systems, at least we get how it works now ... sorta.

[Via X3F]

Tags: epic, gears-of-war-2, mgs, microsoft, rank-system, ranking

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sheriff1972 @ Nov 19th 2008 12:08PM

damn, am i really that bad... LOL

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 12:11PM

"but quitting games will lower it."

DO YOU HEAR THAT PEOPLE?!!! I hate when people quit! I especially hate when people quit because they're losing and think its gonna help their rank by not taking the loss.

I won like 8 matches in a row yesterday expecting to rank up... and nothing. Currently in 2nd Rank. Guess if you beat people that are ranked higher than you it helps even more since you're not favored to win.

Well, at least I have SOME kinda clue now. So when (and if) I rank up to 3rd Rank I'll be seeing some 5th Rank competition every now and then because I haven't seen one yet.

copa @ Nov 19th 2008 12:27PM

Yikes. I was playing with you last night when we all got disconnected from Avalanche. Hope we didn't get penalized for quitting.

Also, if this is anything like the way Halo does Tru-Skill, you get a bigger boost in rank for beating opponents when you are weighed down by underperforming teammates like myself. :)

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 12:38PM

Really? That was you with Electric Zen? Whats your GT? Yeah I don't think we get penalized when the host or everyone in the match leaves. At least...I hope not.

Asylum Knight @ Nov 19th 2008 12:49PM

"Well, at least I have SOME kinda clue now. So when (and if) I rank up to 3rd Rank I'll be seeing some 5th Rank competition every now and then because I haven't seen one yet."

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I've been rank 4 since the second day and have only seen 2 rank 5's. They both sucked, horribly. Nobody in the game could figure out how they got their rank. Once you hit rank 4 it gets ridiculously hard to level up because you have only your own, and one above tier to get good rank increases for winning against.

copa @ Nov 19th 2008 1:05PM

I'm Electric Zen.

baby sea tuna @ Nov 19th 2008 1:36PM

Oh snap! I'm totally adding you, copa.

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 1:38PM

Dude, my bad. lol

I noticed one quick thing you should work on is your shotgun skills. You wanna do a quick aim-shoot and move out the way/roll. I saw you guys would just keep the left trigger pressed down, shoot 3 or 4 shots in a row and move in slowly like that leaving yourself open to an opponent thats quick aiming/rolling and taking less damage. You usually end up splattered like that.

Quick aim, shoot, roll/get back in cover. Active reload is a must.

copa @ Nov 19th 2008 1:49PM

Thanks, Fenix, that's extremely helpful. I'll forward that on to my friend, and we'll work on that.

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Nov 19th 2008 1:51PM

I went through 2 days of annhialating opposing teams but I'm stuck on level 2 as well. I have 1.63 k/d ratio and a 1.67 w/l ratio.

It's not like I haven't played many games (up to 72 now), and I almost always come out in the top few positions in games. I dunno what's going wrong =/ Unless you need to play an insane number of games, in which case fuck knows how I keep coming across level 3/4 people.

WiNG [Life in a Game] @ Nov 19th 2008 12:18PM

I like this system more than the grindfest systems in other games.

Example: Soul Calibur 4.

offday @ Nov 19th 2008 12:23PM

um cool? Now fix it.

These ratings don't mean a thing when I can't even get into a freaking game.

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 12:31PM

"when I can't even get into a freaking game."

Yet I and everyone on my friends list have been getting into matches everyday...

Exaggerate much?

AGAIN, Elimination, Wingman and Flashback playlists are usually fast.

*If you're stuck in a matchmaking loop where it keeps restarting, try a different list. It's a "possible population issue."

*Issues seem to be "heightened" for parties of one and four. He recommends having a friend if you're flying solo.

*Having a group of five pretty much alleviates all issues.

lol @ Nov 20th 2008 7:09AM

I don't think he's exaggerating. I have, with a full team of 5, waited 20 minutes for a game. We gave up and just played Horde.

My mileage varies, though. I got it the day after launch, and was able to find a game solo in under a minute.

I've also had games start, only to be immediately sent back to the lobby for reasons I can't explain.

offday @ Nov 19th 2008 1:12PM

Don't re-list Epic's bs tips and tricks to me, like that will solve the problem. And if you can get into games as easy as you say, then good for you, but you are literally probably 1 out of 30 who aren't having any problems at all.

And you're seriously telling me that you and EVERYONE on your friend's list are getting into games problem free? Yeah, let's talk about exaggerations.

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Nov 19th 2008 1:47PM

Myself and a friend have tried wingman several times to no avail, it seems totally dead to me. Territories and Elimination both seem to be ok though (though still often unacceptably slow).

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 1:55PM

You didn't say it takes you forever to get into games, you said "when I can't even get into games". Just thought you were trying to say you have *never been able to get into a game.

That's what it sounded like to me. Sorry...

Miles @ Nov 19th 2008 12:26PM

I got this very zany idea. How about if there's a ton on 4 man teams out there, just make a 4 v. 4 match? I'd rather do that , than not play at all.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 19th 2008 12:36PM

The jump to 5 on 5 games is a little odd for me still. I keep forgetting that there's an extra man out there until I get chainsawed from behind by him.

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 12:41PM

I know, extra man and an *extra 3rd bullet in the Boom Shot.* I keep forgetting that crap!

Vcize @ Nov 19th 2008 1:33PM

Haha, indeed, one round the other night my last words were:

"He's out of boomsh....."

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 1:50PM

SyChO @ Nov 19th 2008 12:39PM

I don't get it. There's no point to this ranking system, except maybe to pair top ranking players together.

But aside from that there is no real advantage in gaining ranks.

I do like COD4-5's idea concerning ranks though.

Jakka ( The Order of Haters of Balance) @ Nov 19th 2008 12:52PM

I don't really like either of them. When you get three teammates with varying levels of skill and douchebaggery, too much can go wrong for some system to accurately estimate the size of your E-Penis.

Back in the old days, we didn't have no fancy stats. If you topped the server, you were good; If you ended up on the botom, you sucked. That's it.

343 Guilty Fart @ Nov 19th 2008 1:03PM

I feel quite the opposite, I can't stand CoD4's leveling system. I want to play with similarly skilled players, if I wanted to level up and earn XP I'll go play Elder Scrolls.

SP @ Nov 19th 2008 12:42PM

You can actually fight people in Gears of War 2 multiplayer? I thought it was just a screen where you see "invite friends" change to "connecting" and see hilarious messages like "remote parties restarted matchmaking." It's so entertaining that my friends and I have literally spent hours just staring at this screen.

run n gun 26 @ Nov 19th 2008 4:34PM

+1, my friend. THAT is hilarious!

Lionbacker @ Nov 19th 2008 1:39PM

The game predicts which team is favored? Damn... That's really cool.

xFenixKnightx @ Nov 19th 2008 1:58PM

It adds the ranks of each team and the team with the overall highest rank is the favored.

that guy @ Nov 19th 2008 1:53PM

Could people just please stop quitting on Horde? That's all I play and it's such a pain in the ass seeing someone drop out in Wave 1 and know there's almost no chance of reaching 50.

I can't stand quitters.

xGeneral DEATHx (Mr ESC Welcome Back Party Ultimate Mega Action Force) @ Nov 19th 2008 2:34PM

Slightly off-topic, has anyone completed Wave 50 of Horde Mode on Insane difficulty? I completed Hardcore the other night with some friends, but I'm not sure I'll have the cajones to complete the Insane waves.

FlamingEffigy @ Nov 19th 2008 2:39PM

Could anyoen really not figure out what the icons meant? I mean its pretty obivious, more lines = better until you get a star, its not difficult.

And while sure the trueskill thing is weird, you could always just rest in the knowledge that you know how good you are no matter your rank, and not be so shallow as to attribute your happiness to a number or symbol next to your gamertag...

knighty (GT: ZeraKnight) @ Nov 19th 2008 3:54PM

I wouldn't call it shallow. It's a reward for being good.

Cliff2401 @ Jan 2nd 2009 10:26PM

just give up on ranking up from rank 2... my girlfriend got her third rank the same day i got my second and i've now played a few hundred matches more with my k/d ratio 1.5+ in warzone, execution and guardian... i think it's just stopped ranking people now. i can win 10 or more matches out of 15 and it just stays the same... i'm happy knowing that i'm pretty high on the leaderboard and that i'm underestimated when i'm in games :P