From 9ceeb95556019e171f6f50d774840ab9edc3b62c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: FrancescoBorzi <borzifrancesco@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2026 17:26:05 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] fix: stop flipping tie candidates off their native
 faction

---
 src/CFBG.cpp | 10 ++--------
 src/CFBG.h   |  2 +-
 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/CFBG.cpp b/src/CFBG.cpp
index b2d9b97..edd731a 100644
--- a/src/CFBG.cpp
+++ b/src/CFBG.cpp
@@ -224,11 +224,11 @@ TeamId CFBG::ResolveBalancedTeam(TeamBalanceContext const& ctx)
 
                 if (std::abs(avgLvlAlliance - avgLvlHorde) >= 0.5f)
                     team = avgLvlAlliance < avgLvlHorde ? TEAM_ALLIANCE : TEAM_HORDE;
-                else // it's balanced, so we should only check the ilvl
+                else if (ctx.avgIlvlA != ctx.avgIlvlH) // levels balanced, ilvl breaks the tie; an exact ilvl tie keeps the current pick
                     team = ctx.avgIlvlA < ctx.avgIlvlH ? TEAM_ALLIANCE : TEAM_HORDE;
             }
         }
-        else if (ctx.levelSumA == ctx.levelSumH)
+        else if (ctx.levelSumA == ctx.levelSumH && ctx.avgIlvlA != ctx.avgIlvlH)
         {
             team = ctx.avgIlvlA < ctx.avgIlvlH ? TEAM_ALLIANCE : TEAM_HORDE;
         }
@@ -781,12 +781,6 @@ void CFBG::SelectBalancedGroups(BattlegroundQueue* queue, BattlegroundBracketId
         ctx.levelSumA = baseLevelSum[TEAM_ALLIANCE] + stagedLevelSum[TEAM_ALLIANCE];
         ctx.levelSumH = baseLevelSum[TEAM_HORDE] + stagedLevelSum[TEAM_HORDE];
 
-        // Fold the candidate's level sum into its projected side.
-        if (gInfo->teamId == TEAM_ALLIANCE)
-            ctx.levelSumA += cfInfo.SumPlayerLevel;
-        else
-            ctx.levelSumH += cfInfo.SumPlayerLevel;
-
         // ilvl metric: live BG average when reinforcing, staged sums at formation.
         ctx.avgIlvlA = bg ? GetBGTeamAverageItemLevel(bg, TEAM_ALLIANCE) : stagedIlvlSum[TEAM_ALLIANCE];
         ctx.avgIlvlH = bg ? GetBGTeamAverageItemLevel(bg, TEAM_HORDE) : stagedIlvlSum[TEAM_HORDE];
diff --git a/src/CFBG.h b/src/CFBG.h
index 0cfb317..9411b69 100644
--- a/src/CFBG.h
+++ b/src/CFBG.h
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ struct TeamBalanceContext
 {
     int32  countA{ 0 };               // head counts, candidate EXCLUDED
     int32  countH{ 0 };
-    uint32 levelSumA{ 0 };            // candidate level ALREADY folded into its side
+    uint32 levelSumA{ 0 };            // level sums, candidate EXCLUDED (like the counts)
     uint32 levelSumH{ 0 };
     uint32 avgIlvlA{ 0 };            // per-team ilvl metric (bg avg OR queue sum)
     uint32 avgIlvlH{ 0 };

From 88544d715004f29fc0ee546b8c07e342aae2e1ff Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: FrancescoBorzi <borzifrancesco@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 2 Jul 2026 17:26:21 +0200
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] fix: document Avg.Ilvl knob only applies when
 BalancedTeams is off

---
 conf/CFBG.conf.dist | 6 +++++-
 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/conf/CFBG.conf.dist b/conf/CFBG.conf.dist
index e9c91b1..91a99df 100644
--- a/conf/CFBG.conf.dist
+++ b/conf/CFBG.conf.dist
@@ -61,7 +61,11 @@
 #       Default: "" - (no class skipped)
 #
 #   CFBG.Include.Avg.Ilvl.Enable
-#       Description: Enable check average item level for bg
+#       Description: Enable check average item level for bg.
+#                    Only takes effect when CFBG.BalancedTeams = 0. When
+#                    CFBG.BalancedTeams = 1 the average item level is always
+#                    consulted as an intrinsic tiebreaker of the balancing
+#                    cascade, regardless of this setting.
 #       Default: 0
 #
 #   CFBG.BalancedTeams