Matchmaking (Dark Souls II)

Matchmaking is a game mechanic in Dark Souls II that connects players for co-op and PvP sessions. Matchmaking is performed by the Dark Souls II game servers whenever a player attempts to join a multiplayer session, for example when using a Cracked Red Eye Orb to invade another player.

The exact matchmaking algorithm was never published FromSoftware or Bandai Namco, but instead discovered via extensive community research.

Tiers

The matchmaking algorithm assigns each player character to one of 45 tiers depending on the character's Soul Memory. Tiers are further used to determine whether a character is eligible to join a multiplayer session.

Each tier corresponds to a range of Soul Memory. Characters whose Soul Memories fall within the same range are assigned to the same tier. For example, tier 10 has the Soul Memory range 130,000 – 149,999. A character with Soul Memory 130,000 is assigned to tier 10, same as a character with Soul Memory 140,000, but a character with Soul Memory 150,000 is assigned to tier 11 instead.

The following table displays the range of Soul Memory for each tier:

Tier	Soul Memory
	Minimum	Maximum
1	0	9,999
2	10,000	19,999
3	20,000	29,999
4	30,000	39,999
5	40,000	49,999
6	50,000	69,999
7	70,000	89,999
8	90,000	109,999
9	110,000	129,999
10	130,000	149,999
11	150,000	179,999
12	180,000	209,999
13	210,000	239,999
14	240,000	269,999
15	270,000	299,999
16	300,000	349,999
17	350,000	399,999
18	400,000	449,900
19	450,000	499,999
20	500,000	599,999
21	600,000	699,999
22	700,000	799,999
23	800,000	899,999
24	900,000	999,999
25	1,000,000	1,099,999
26	1,100,000	1,199,999
27	1,200,000	1,299,999
28	1,300,000	1,399,999
29	1,400,000	1,499,999
30	1,500,000	1,749,999
31	1,750,000	1,999,999
32	2,000,000	2,249,999
33	2,250,000	2,499,999
34	2,500,000	2,749,999
35	2,750,000	2,999,999
36	3,000,000	4,999,999
37	5,000,000	6,999,999
38	7,000,000	8,999,999
39	9,000,000	11,999,999
40	12,000,000	14,999,999
41	15,000,000	19,999,999
42	20,000,000	29,999,999
43	30,000,000	44,999,999
44	45,000,000	359,999,999
45	360,000,000	999,999,999

Tier ranges

The matchmaking algorithm allows player characters to connect to other player characters at the same tier or adjacent tiers. Each connection method has a different range of adjacent tiers.

The following table displays the tier range for each connection method. The tiers up and down are relative to the tier of the user of the corresponding multiplayer item (see #Examples).

Connection method	Tiers
	Down	Up
Small White Sign Soapstone	4	2
Small White Sign Soapstone with Name-engraved Ring	7	5
White Sign Soapstone	3	1
White Sign Soapstone with Name-engraved Ring	6	4
Red Sign Soapstone	5	2
Dragon Eye	5	5
Cracked Red Eye Orb	0	4
Cracked Red Eye Orb in the Dark Chasm of Old	0	8
Cracked Blue Eye Orb	2	2
Guardian's Seal	5	4
Bell Keeper's Seal	1	3
Crest of the Rat	1	3
Looking Glass Knight via Cracked Red Eye Orb	0	5
Looking Glass Knight via Red Sign Soapstone	0	6
Brotherhood of Blood arena	Unlimited
Blue Sentinels arena	Unlimited

Examples

• A summon sign placed by a tier 20 character by using the White Sign Soapstone can be seen by characters at tier 17 – 21.
• A summon sign placed by a tier 20 character wearing the Name-engraved Ring by using the White Sign Soapstone can bee seen by characters at tier 14 – 24 that are also wearing the Name-engraved Ring and have selected the same god.
• A tier 20 character using a Cracked Red Eye Orb can invade characters at tier 20 – 24.
• A tier 20 character wearing the Guardian's Seal can be summoned by characters at tier 15 – 24.
• A tier 20 character wearing the Bell Keeper's Seal can invade characters at tier 19 – 23.
• A tier 20 character wearing the Crest of the Rat can summon characters at tier 19 – 23.
• A tier 20 character entering the Brotherhood of Blood arena can be matched with characters at any tier.