It’s true that you can go a certain length with this concept via 3rd party routes only, without the involvement of Blizzard. But there’s a big question about whether it can be as regulated as Blizzard can.
For example, if you do it via a discord bot, then there’s the option of using discord punishments like bans or temporary timeouts to discourage stuff like leaving the group before queuing up.
But the question is how to detect that, whether it should be manual reporting (very big risk of false reports), or if there’s a way to program that into the addon you mentioned that goes along with it to check it automatically.
I also don’t know if it’s possible for an addon to check variables like if a person disconnected before queuing up and so on, or if a person in the group disconnected before queuing up etc.
This is why I’d prefer Blizzard handling it, since they’re not as limited in what they can do, especially the part about how it’d match ability, like for example:
The benefit of a system that can more accurately keep matching you with those close to your ability via such encompassing algorithms that checks detailed things like matching when they got their exp, how often they’ve gotten their exp, and on how many characters they’ve gotten their exp on, and if they’re to be grouped with others on the character they got a certain kind of exp on and so on.
And by doing so, it massively grows the level of implicit trust in each other.
It’s basically like having a system that causes you to “click” on its own, without you thinking it’s because of a fluke. It’ll basically feel more natural like that, if done well.
But there are a lot of variables to consider and so on, and ways you can work in “suggestions” for players to help smooth it out further.
There’s also a problem with how not everyone gets along with each other. That’s just the way people work, and how clashing personalities work, and so on.
Anyway, there’s a lot to consider, and why Blizzard is the one more likely to do it better than anyone else ever could when it’s for their own game.
There’s also the question of whether that is all necessary or not. As mentioned, variables like multiclass exp, regularly hitting a certain rating or just doing it once and so on, as well as on what character you did it on etc., while they are certainly good as indicators, maybe just the MMR alone is good enough to get a somewhat good match? Maybe it isn’t?
It’d definitely be less accurate, but can it be good enough for the purpose of increasing trust levels on a macro scale? I know how it is now, but in a system like that then it’s hard to tell and what your ultimate goal is as a designer (which in this case would be Blizzard who needs to consider every single player in the game instead of just you who are reading this).
For the record, increasing trust levels between players would without a doubt make people like it more. Which, for the record, trust can only be increased via reciprocation. Basically, if you go from one team you fit in with to the next you fit in with in such a system, then that makes you far more likely to trust the team you end up with after that.
Have that repeat itself over and over again and then it eventually feels like you naturally “belong” with the people you end up with, every single time (or close to it).
Which is why such a merit-based solo queue to just end up in the same group for people to say hi to each other, and then agree on how they should do it in general and then adjust it in the waiting room after having found a match to what they face and so on, would have an ok-ish potential to maybe work well. Might not though.
It might work great for some people, but not for others.
This is just the outline of a concept. Some things does need alpha/beta testing for a reason, and some things needs your input for a reason.
It’d definitely be great if Blizzard could add those “suggestions” to sort out pre-planned roles as in who should do this kind of thing and who should do that kind of thing in the chat window though, when they use such a system. Especially for the new players.
Tbh the game needs a much better tutorial for beginners in PvP…
(Would be funny if they added youtube links in the chat window to whatever comp you got matched up as in such a solo queue, to a skill-capped video explaining the general concept of the comp. It’d definitely help the learning curve tbh.)