i mean it's probably serviceable for those who enjoy free for all casual matches, but it seems any hope of me finding others for competitive play got shafted this game for reasons i will never understand. also, when i said 20 unwanted free for alls, that wasn't a statistic or anything. that was me trying to make a point that i am so fed up with ultimate's online that i am about to quit the game all together and dive into the other big smash community with lots of persistent followers (melee). also, there's absolutely no exacerbating going on. everything i have said is the experience i have had with this game up to this point in time. back in 1.2.0, i recorded 100 consecutive games, and 74 of them were free for alls with an additional 15 1v1 matches using anticompetitive rulesets (timed battles, random stages with hazards, and/or items).
i don't know what causes the problem or whether others are having it. what i do know is my personal experience with ultimate's online has been complete sh*t, and no update to date has changed the fact that i keep getting that casual free for all garbage when i clearly stated in my preferred rules that i want fair competitive 1v1 matches. arenas aren't giving me any of that either. 90% of arena battle matches i participate in where someone doesn't self destruct by accident end with one party three stocking the other. there is a clear skill gap in any arena i visit which isn't beneficial for anyone involved.
this is simply me stating my experience, because i know how sh*t it is on my end. i don't have any friends willing to play ultimate (my region in real life is mostly a melee region), so i am unable to vouch for them or use data from their accounts.