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Valve released a much needed update to its CS:GO MM system yesterday, further revamping its Prime MM feature and announcing the closure of the Operation Hydra Event. While the last date of Operation Hydra Event was already announced earlier, Valve’s changes to the MM system was a bit unexpected. This move was likely undertaken by Valve to prevent legit players from getting matched with hackers, which has caused a decline in the player count and of course, to counter the stiff competition offered by PUBG.

The Trust Factor, is a method introduced to the MM system which affects all players unlike the Prime MM feature, which was available only for players having a Lieutenant Rank 21 and, a phone number link to their account.Trust factor is enabled by default for all Prime as well as non-Prime players. While CS:GO’s Prime MM feature  prevented hackers from being queued up with legit players to ‘some extent’, still,hackers were pretty abundant in the Prime MM pool as well. The Trust Factor, aims at matching players having a similar overall reputation at the game, as well as on Steam, together. There are a number of factors which influence the reputation of the players, including number of hours played, number of reports against one’s account, the player’s reputation on Steam (which might include the player’s transactions on the Steam Store, the Steam Market and the number of games associated with one’s account). Well, does that mean that players who do not have much transactions on Steam will suffer? Well, these are only a few of the factors which influence Trust factor, and Valve has chosen not to disclose the rest. The new MM update is more likely to benefit legit players and negatively affect cheaters. While it will take time to properly calibrate each player’s Trust Factor, the update looks indeed promising.

Apart from the changes to the MM system, Valve also added the Wingman and Flying Scoutsman game mode, improved the overall game performance and added a few other changes which can be found here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What are the factors used in the new Trust Factor matchmaking system?
A: Valve has chosen not to provide the list of factors in the Trust Factor matchmaking system for a few reasons. They don’t want players to have to worry about any particular action while they’re playing CS:GO or other games on Steam. Additionally, because they are constantly updating the Trust Factor matchmaking system, any list of factors would become out of date very quickly. That being said, in general they are looking at your past experience in CS:GO and on Steam, to ensure the system is as accurate as possible.

Q: Can I look at my personal Trust Factor?
A: Valve doesn’t plans to display your Trust Factor – the goal is to provide a better matchmaking experience without you having to worry about optimizing anything. In fact, in most cases knowing your Trust Factor wouldn’t be very helpful – the system will try to match you with similar players, but like skill groups, the range of players on a server will vary depending on the time of day, your region, the maps you’re queuing for, etc.

Q: What can I do to improve my Trust Factor?
A: All you need to do is be a positive member of the CS:GO and Steam community. Valve is still iterating on the Trust Factor model and adjusting the way various factors are combined, but they want to make sure that all you have to do to improve your matchmaking experience is continue to play CS:GO 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.

Q: I used to have Prime Status. Does that improve my Trust Factor?
A: Yes! Phone numbers and CS:GO Rank are among the factors used in the new Trust Factor matchmaking system. If you had Prime Status before, your Trust Factor will benefit from your phone and in-game experience. If you have not linked your CS:GO account with a phone number, you should–doing so will improve your matchmaking experience.

Q: I’m a new player, will I have a low Trust Factor?
A: Not necessarily. Your Trust Factor is impacted by your experiences on Steam as well as CS:GO, so if you’ve been a positive member of the Steam Community in the past, you’ll likely enter CS:GO with a high Trust Factor.

Q: How will you know if this system is better than the previous one?
A: In addition to reading player feedback, Valve been evaluating Prime by measuring the way players interact with each other. Objectively, Prime is successful when players stick to their matches and report/kick each other a bit less (these tend to be good measures of a pleasant matchmaking experience). Valve plans to use the same approach to evaluate the Trust Factor system.

Q: I suspect that I have a low Trust Factor because the quality of my matches is poor. What can I do about this?
A: Send an email to [email protected] with the subject “Trust Factor Feedback” and include a description of your experience and your Steam ID. These reports will help Valve in improving the system.

Q: I suspect that my friend has a low Trust Factor because of the quality of my matches when, and only when, I party up with them. What can I do about this?
A: Tell them to email Valve AS recommended above. Be aware that when players are in a party, Valve uses the lowest Trust Factor of any individual in the party for matchmaking purposes.

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