MP rankings are such a minefield. You have to deal with:
  • Ego-maniacal stat whores
  • Smurf accounts
  • Laggers/droppers
  • Newbstompers
  • Team manipulation
  • Illicit clan cooperation
  • Team match sabotage
  • Abuse and alienation of new players
  • and so on...


Basically, the G.I.F.T. in it's purest, rawest form. Smurfs can alleviated by tying the online stats to the product key, but some sad sacks will buy multiple copies. I've always thought droppers should get an automatic loss. Visible rankings and player "reviews" in the lobby are a must. Wins and losses should add/subtract from the ladder scores relative to the rankings delta between the sides, 2v2 and up would require some fancy math, but I imagine it's doable. Measure the overall skill level, diminishing the importance of an individual win/loss will make for a friendlier environment. And it is very important that the scoring/ranking system is bug-free, otherwise it will be exploited like crazy.

And of course, there should always be the option of non-ranked games, so you can play for fun or for training/experimental purposes without worrying about the precious ladder score.