Party Skill and Matchmaking use a Weighted Average that blends the average skill of all players. The Weighted Average then skews that average to the highest-ranked player.
Example:
A party of similarly ranked players will have a Party Skill close to their average rating.
A party that’s farther apart in Rank will match against players closer to their highest-Ranked player.
Catching Up Lower-Skilled Party Members
This system rewards lower-Ranked friends to catch up in Competitive matches. Lower-ranked players will earn more for beating higher-Ranked players. The system also penalizes losses less when playing against higher-Ranked players.
Example:
The lower-Ranked player will receive more skill points for beating opponents who are ranked higher.
The lower-Ranked player will lose fewer skill points for losing to opponents who are ranked higher.
A Few Important Notes
The average for players in Champion Rank and higher is weighted more towards the highest-ranked player.
Casual parties will match slightly closer to their average than they would in Competitive matches.
Based on player feedback, we have added Rank restriction for undersized parties. For more info, check out: Are there Rank Restrictions for Parties in Rocket League?
Ready to Party Up? For more info, check out: How do I Party Up after a match in Rocket League?