Deadlock

I mean, skill-based matchmaking is a coinflip in every game ever.

Overall, I've actually had really good games lately, but this meme was inspired by a string of three complete stomps I just suffered.

The game actually has really good mechanics for turning a match around, but you need a team that knows how to exploit them.

Usually, when things go bad, it's because the team has one or two players who only maintain their cool if things are going well. Losing after giving a game our best shot isn't too bad, but having someone exploding in chat and refusing to work with the team to put up a united effort sucks.

I never mind losing because someone on the team just doesn't know how to play, in those cases I try to teach as much as possible, on the fly. That always makes a match enjoyable, win or lose.

Probably not to the same extent, population has been pretty stable this year.

While I got salty enough to make the meme, my rate of burnout has actually gone down significantly.

I think it's because I got better a teamwork. I now go out of my way to give off positive vibes towards my team, win or lose. I make sure to ping "good job" and compliment particularly good plays. And usually that means I get good vibes back, win or lose.

When things aren't going well, I try to give actionable advice, without being commanding or blamey.

And, I feel that by taking charge of a team, guiding our positioning, calling out bridge-buffs and incoming pushes, recommending counter-item purchases, etc., significantly boosted my winrate.

I suspect a lot of the stomps I'm on the wrong side of, is due to people like that playing on the other team. It makes sense that a matchmaking system would struggle with accounting for that. Players like this don't just perform better individually, they essentially buff their entire team.