For each item, a Battlevalue should be added, which is composed of both the level and the overall strength of the item (stronger rare items will have a higher value). This should also include kits. The matchup in PvP should then be based on the overall Battlevalue of the whole build.

After the (limited) experiences I made in the PvP, I can tell for about 80% of the battles right from the start (if no kits are used) who will win. The main problem for most people is that they lack the money to build a suited mech. At Levels 22-30 (where I am now), I have engaged many opponents which did not use any rare equipment, especially no torso. On the other hand, I also engaged some pro players like Deflowerer and BigDaddy (yes, I quit both of you), whose builds were top notch, far better than mine.
It is really annoying if you are outclassed simply because you cannot afford to buy the mech you want to use, but are forced to fight on a higher level just because of one or two parts. Also the level difference does not add up completely, as only the highest part is considered. Pro players often have their whole equipment adjusted perfectly to the level.

Overall, with this tweak, the tactics and not only the equipment will determine the winner.
This would also make the use of Farmbots more difficult, as a weak bot cannot be placed against a current build.

my answer to this has always been "win more". better yet, buy some tokens as they're cheap, and you'll not only be helping to make this game better, you won't have to worry about buying parts any more.

while I agree that the current ranking system could be better, no one has yet come out with an exact algorithm of how these build values would play out. I will give it my vote when I see it.

thanks for the props, and remember that this game takes planning in advance to progress in builds. for example, I made one account previous to this one, then the lvl 20 cutoff nailed me, so I restarted and bought the moneymaker build right at start. this "moneymaker" has given me 5 other builds with lots and lots of gear. so it is doable.

I would only want a tweak of this reaching the devs. I know I posted about this a long time ago, but to surmise, I think there should be a fancy algorithm for matchmaking that matches players by value if and only if there are enough players in that level looking for a battle. But eventually, you should be forced to play better players if there are only a few people around. Also, the higher you play, the less players there are usually. So this should make players think twice before playing at a higher level.

Oh, and here's the link from the thread that spoke about this in more detail.
http://www.battledawn.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=409&t=25358&hilit=match&start=10