Does Call of Duty: Vanguard have SBMM? Skill-based matchmaking is a contentious mechanic within the Call of Duty community. It often garners controversy for disadvantaging better players, but is SBMM present in the new game? Join us as we dig into skill-based matchmaking in Call of Duty: Vanguard.
Does Call of Duty: Vanguard have skill-based matchmaking?
Yes, SBMM is present within Call of Duty: Vanguard.
That means better players will rapidly rise up the ranks, finding themselves in lobbies with other highly skilled players. On the contrary, it means those struggling to get kills in tougher lobbies will be moved down to a level that suits their skill level. The SBMM mechanics aim to match you with players on a similar level, but this can have caveats. For example, if you go on an unprecedented run of killstreaks and wins — and perhaps even a few MVP medals — you might get moved to lobbies that think this is your new general standard. Once your hot streak ends, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed by the skill level.
Unsurprisingly, skill-based matchmaking isn’t particularly popular within the Call of Duty community. Some argue it can throw you into tougher lobbies after just a few good games, or demote you greatly for a couple of sub-standard performances. Twitter users aren’t too happy about its inclusion, either:
my sbmm is so high on vanguard i’m going against current cdl pros and past cdl pros in pubs. it’s nice to think the game thinks i’m that good but i don’t want my ass clapped at 5am.
— FaZe Kalei (@KaleiRenay) November 6, 2021
Vanguard doesn't suck.
SBMM does.
— SoaR Zephy 🌶 (@SoaRZephy) November 5, 2021
As you can tell, SBMM isn’t especially popular among the Vanguard player base. Some suggest that it should be reserved for ranked modes, leaving public matches up to completely random matchmaking. Of course, though, it’s unlikely that Sledgehammer Games will remove SBMM any time soon. It’s something Vanguard players will have to learn to live with, no matter how unpopular it is.
For even more on Call of Duty: Vanguard, we’ve got details on how to get the V2 Rocket. We’ve also got help on how to fix the ‘Server Disconnected’ error.
