Ah, the dreaded EOMM. If you’ve been playing Marvel Rivals for a little bit, you’ve probably seen that term tossed around once or twice in reference to the game.
But what do those four oh so intimidating letters mean for Rivals fans? Well, in short, it’s to do with matchmaking – but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered with a total explainer below.
Marvel Rivals: EOMM System Explained
EOMM is short for Engagement Optimized Matchmaking. When it comes to Marvel Rivals, EOMM has a direct influence on how the in-game matchmaking system works, specifically with how it queues players against one another or assigns teams to a lobby.
In short, EOMM means that depending on the player’s behaviour, the matchmaking will change to put them in more favorable lineups, or throw them into a total steamroll. In the community, this has since become known as the classic “winners’ queue” and “losers’ queue”.
Why this is such a big deal for Marvel Rivals specifically is that other games tend to utilize SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking) instead of EOMM.
Take Overwatch 2, for example – OW2 has Skill-Based Matchmaking for their lobbies, meaning players generally wind up in relatively balanced matches, minus the odd hiccup via disconnects, smurfing, or the odd one-sided match. No matter if you love or hate ol’ OW2, you’ve got to admit that SBMM does have its advantages.
There are even placement matches in Competitive mode to help set up players within the rank that the system recognizes their skill level is at. Marvel Rivals, on the other hand, has no placement matches; every poor sucker starts from bronze and is forced to grind their way up.
On top of this, there is the SR decay that occurs every season, meaning players are set back several ranks, and must then climb back up to where they were with EOMM taking them on an unpredictable rollercoaster ride the entire time.
The general rule is that if you start going on a losing streak, stop playing ASAP. Like, right now. Like, four games ago. Why? Because EOMM is designed as a brutal win-loss seesaw.
Why You Should Stop Playing Marvel Rivals When EOMM Makes Things Rough
EOMM encourages players to chase their next victory, essentially doing anything to keep them playing – including adapting the matchmaking opponents based on their win-loss. If you’ve had a little win streak, the system will likely start tossing you more skilled opponents as little raid bosses for you to try and overcome.
If you tend to stop playing after a couple of losses in a row, the system should recognize that you lose engagement with the game in this situation. The next time you log on, you may find that it tries to make up for it again by keeping you engaged for multiple matches in the holy “winners’ queue”. Or, maybe it won’t. It’s honestly hard to tell at times – which is why players are becoming increasingly fed up with the state of Competitive matchmaking in Marvel Rivals.
Implementing SBMM would certainly relieve a lot of the outrage the game is facing from its main player base, particularly as these voices have become louder and louder across Season 2 – Season 3.5.
At the very least, a common opinion is that placement matches would help ease some of the pain, and honestly? I’m not opposed to it. Not only does it make it harder for smurfs to just continuously make new accounts to skulk around the depths of low ranks, but in theory, it would also help players reach their designated or “true” rank much quicker and easier. At this point, only time will tell.
