UK CSGO community reacts to new Trust Factor matchmaking system

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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.

 
Others have a more negative view on the new Trust Factor system:

‘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.

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