PS brackets: are they real?

This has come up in a few threads lately, and I think I deserves its own thread.

When I started playing, I quickly noticed that there were a lot of players running builds that were either x999 or x499 PS, in an effort to have the most powerful build in a certain PS bracket.

But while it seemed like it worked back then, I believe they eventually changed the system to a variable spread, nullifying that strategy.

Others believe that trick still works, but only when there are enough players online to make it work.

I still havenā€™t got around to directly testing it, but I have been taking note of the highest PS players on each team, and looking for patterns, but so far I havenā€™t found anything suggesting hard brackets that could be manipulated like that.

Anyone interested in doing some testing?
Even just posting match load screenshots from a bunch of consecutive games would give us some raw data to look at and analyze.

I believe there are. I think also they have become a bit looser as time has passed.

For sure there used to be easily identifiable brackets.

There was the harvester bracket
Then the wedge SG bracket.
Then theā€¦
Oh yeah it was separated by PS also!

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Just played a bunch of matches with various builds. One was 8499, and it was never too PS. Then I played one that was just below 9kPS, and again, I was usually in the middle.
Tried some higher PS builds as well, and kept ending up mostly in the middle, sometimes at the bottom, and sometimes at the top.

If there is a bracket system, Iā€™m not able to decode it.
But I also donā€™t know what the brackets are supposed to be, so I might be doing it wrong.

2499, 4699, 6499, 8999 (someone correct me if Iā€™m off please)

There are not ā€œHardā€ brackets.

But playing at those numbers will normally produce games where you are not the low man on the totem pool. And in many cases put you on the higher end. No one is saying that a bracket ends exact at XX99 - those are ā€œSafeā€ PS numbers to try and keep you matched up in the right group.

Thatā€™s all bracket building is about. Itā€™s more about getting a fair match or one where you are at a PS advantage more times then not. (You might not always be the highest PS guy, but we are hoping not to the the lowest)

Because we have so many other variables that can change the MM it will almost be impossible to get a sample of games that will hold true 100% of the time to any single rule.

I have not taken the time to test (itā€™s more of a feeling when Iā€™m playing) when I build on the bracket I donā€™t have as many times where Iā€™m ā€œWTF WHY AM I 2000 PS LESS THEN EVERYONE ELSE!ā€

If your looking for a 100% concert mathematical formula your not going to find one. I know some peoples brains work like that.

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used to be 2499 and others. Only one I ever built a build for. Lilnasty got the nerf hammer and is now like 2800 something.

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Iā€™m not sure I totally understand what youā€™re saying.

If I built to one of those numbers, I will be more likely to be at the top, but not consistently?
How is that actually describing a bracket then? If the matchmaker can just adjust and make new limits whenever it needs to, then maybe itā€™s always making new limits, meaning that there arenā€™t actually set brackets.

I guess at this point Iā€™m confused why the brackets would even exist, since the matchmaker is clearly capable of putting together full matches of players (no bots) that completely ignore the brackets. If it can do that, why would it pay attention to them other times?

I want to believe, but I donā€™t get it.

I think we might be using the word ā€œbracketā€ a little differently for this game. Itā€™s more like a ā€œSafeā€ PS to help the match maker put you in the right PS range.

And yes, we are hoping to be higher in PS then lower in that matchup.

Also we are trying not to waist PS - meaning that we do not want to be playing in a PS range where we could have had more PS and still played the same guys. You always want the most possible. So we try to push the PS as close as we can to the line before the match maker starts matching you up with the guys above.

So for example - you can be on a 4000PS build and que up for a match and your playing a certain group of guys. Then if you update that build to be a 4699 car when you que your most likely going to play the same guys, but now your 699PS stronger.

Then you can log into a game with a 4900 PS build and land in that same group because your close to the lower bracket and got pulled down, but now when you que becuase your PS is over the 4699 PS line many of your games your going to get pulled up into the group of guys playing above. And we donā€™t want that.

So once you notice your getting pulled up you can do one of two things.

  1. increase your PS to 6499 and now your still going to be playing the same guys in the higher group, but now instead of having 4900PS your going to have 6499ps which is 1599PS stronger.

Or

  1. you could shaved PS off to drop you back down to 4699 PS And fight in the lower group.

Iā€™m a little tired - Iā€™m sure it is clear as mud - Iā€™ll try to take some time to do some testing this week, with screenshots.

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I would call it a PS ā€œspreadā€ myself. I think the population decline has made them loosen up a bit.

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Yes, they are, but i also think that depending on how good you do, you get put into higher / lower bracket as well so say someone cheeses with a build intentionally kept low ps, they might be pushed up to higher ps after they cheese too much, or even into lower ones if they suck at winning

What confuses players is that these brackets are not absolute. They see a 4999 PS car in a 5500k ps battle once, and they assume that itā€™s black magic for weak-minded fools. Itā€™s not.

And ofc it works less and less on a game that has no population to make matches with (^%

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How would we prove one way or another that these supposed ā€œsoft bracketsā€ exist?
How can we tell whether this is superstition or real?

Because if itā€™s as loose as some of you describe, Iā€™m not sure thereā€™s any meaningful difference between that and a variable spread. To me, the latter seems like it would be simpler to implement, and would serve the same purpose. It would also look pretty similar.

Someone of sound mind and body might think so, lol, but this is Crossout. You have to toss a little logic out the window.

There is a reason clans run 4 man groups of the exact same PS in PvP missions. Itā€™s not ā€œjustā€ to look cool :sunglasses: lol. These are the kind of dudes that are going to do anything for an edge. And this is one of those small edges.

All the small things add up.

Alsoā€¦ know that this is going down the rabbit hole of a group of crazy min/maxers.

We are looking for ever advantage.

Skill + All fused + Brackets + all Unlocked drivers + all the armor + OP meta builds

Even if everyone of those things only gave a 2% advantage (making a number up) those things start to stack just like fused gear and add up to a considerable Advantage.

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On a side note: I can see why some donā€™t know these things - we even have people in the fuse thread that have been here for years and donā€™t know how fusions on movement parts work. (Only an observation)

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GIGO brother GIGO.

I have had so much garbage inā€¦ some of it became garbage out.
Happens when you get old I guess.

Did you consider some people might know, but ask questions for confirmation independently?

I asked questions all the time in my job that I already knew the answer to.
I asked them of people both above and below me.

I do live by the motto ā€œTrust, but verify.ā€

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:100: no fault in getting a confirmation.

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All of this is why I generally ignore these brackets. I just donā€™t see it as worth my effort to toy with PS to hit a number that may or may not help me.

Adding a part with the perfect durability/mass ratio, thoughā€¦ that clearly helps. Iā€™ll focus on that.

the matchmaker will try to match the ps firstā€¦7k to 7999k
not all players play 7kā€¦so the matchmaker will go up or down in ps depending if your closer to 7k or higher closer to 8k.
if a few players are in a que,then the mm will or uselessly go to the higher ps or with more players waiting in the queā€¦
'sometimes there is not enough of the same psā€¦and those players are in a match already.
there are multiple ā€˜instancesā€™ going on at the same time.
i been matched with 8999k and less,me being the only 7k at times all day todayā€¦
best bet is stay within whatever ps you like to play and donā€™t worry about the mmā€¦ :crazy_face:

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Excellent advice.

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This is proving brackets and it is exactly why it is done.

7k is not an optimized PS

You are above 6499 and you will get more 8999 match-up when you are at 7k

So like I explained above, to optimize your PS you have two choices.

  1. reduce your PS to 6499 and you will start to get matched more with lower PS players.

Or

  1. raise your PS to 8999 and you will get basically the same matches but now you have 1999 more PS
    To build with.

the x499 is just a myth,i done that years ago,it never helped so i stopped doing it.
in fact i was saying the same thing that x499 was it,but sadly nope :crazy_face:
i just play what ever ps i want and so should everyone else.
just find a ps you like donā€™t worry about the mm. or go crazy :partying_face:

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