Fortnite skill-based matchmaking is getting massive changes

Skill-based matchmaking has remained one of the most controversial aspects of Fortnite. It was initially introduced to try and put players into matches where they had a genuine chance of winning. It is not fair to have a novice player in the same lobby as Ninja or SypherPK, so Epic decided to try and remove that possibility.

There have been many tweaks and updates to SBMM since its arrival. However, many gamers doubt its optimization, as they still match with players above their skill levels.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how the changes work), skill-based matchmaking appears to be getting a new update to tweak the system once more. Here are some changes that will take place.

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Skill-based matchmaking gets an update for Fortnite Zero Build, regular playlists

There are three tiers for skill-based matchmaking for both regular Fortnite and Zero Build, according to popular YouTuber The Camping Rusher.

The lowest tier has up to 75 Fortnite bots per lobby, meaning players will hardly face real players. However, the number of bots can fluctuate per game.

The middle tier has anywhere from 30 to 65 bots, depending on the player's skill level. The device players use also determines the tier, thus this tier mostly has console players.

Zero Build has different SBMM (Image via Epic Games)

The highest tier will have a maximum of 15 bots. This tier is also split between console players and PC users, resulting in a wide variety of players.

In regular Fortnite, building is a big component of matchmaking. Inasmuch, it makes sense for quality builders to be in higher tiers than others. The number of eliminations also matter, though they are not in as high a stead as building. High elimination wins with very few builds keep players in lower tiers.

Wins and editing do not move the needle much either. Previously, editing speed and skill could play into the tier players found themselves in, but that is no longer the case.

In Zero Build, there is no building talent, so eliminations are about the only thing that matters. Getting eliminations will move players up, and getting very few will move them down.

This will result in players often facing players that are way better than them simply because there's only one skill factor in play here.

Perhaps in the future, Zero Build could take survival time into account for the skill level of a gamer, but right now, it is all about eliminations.