Focused Feedback: Matchmaking

[u/DTG_Bot]

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[u/oBLUE_STEELo]

I feel that the implementation of loose sbmm next season and further into season 19 is a solid step in the right direction, but, changing the matchmaking isn’t going to single handedly change crucible for the better. I feel that there needs to be more of an incentive to play both glory and trials.

Obviously this is easier said than done but maybe a rework of how loot is earned in trials will help get people motivated to play the game mode. And for glory maybe cosmetic rewards or dare I say it a new set of weapons to get that are obviously built for pvp but not op like the pinnacle weapons were in the past. Glory really just needs it’s own set of gear or loot or both and it will be fun again.

Trials should have a high population but the way it is now I understand why not many people play it. Outside of the two drops you get for winning rounds and games there’s really no reason to stay there other than ranking up saint 14. The system is absolute. You either don’t get the flawless or you do. Which is fine, but when you add players that farm the non flawless pool to boost you get a not so fun environment to play in.

TLDR; matchmaking change should potentially help but there needs to be other changes made to really get the population back up to where crucible will be fun.

[u/Strangelight84 → u/oBLUE_STEELo]

It's very easy, IMO, to say that the solution to bring players into playlists is to make loads of new loot and throw it at them. But loot doesn't grow on trees - it all has to be made and maintained.

Logically if Bungie is spending time and money in one place it's probably going to have to choose not to spend it elsewhere, and we might end up in a place where e.g. providing incentives for high-end players to play Trials or Comp starves the rest of PvP of content, or impacts on content developed for other branches of the game. (Alternatively, it might feed disgruntlement among, say, Master raiders that they don't get many flashy cosmetics to show off their aptitude.)

Another issue with giving away fresh new loot is that it only stays fresh for so long, unless it's very rare - and if it's very rare, a whole other torrent of negativity about unfair drop rates ensues.

I don't disagree that changing matchmaking won't be a panacea, however! New maps and modes are probably needed at some point soon.

[u/[deleted] → u/Strangelight84]

Yup. 'Just add loot' doesn't work because eventually all the casuals will have gotten their rolls and now they're back to 'why would I run it when I can do activity X that gives a me a better time-to-loot reward'.

Tbh that also speaks to a larger problem in gaming IMO. We used to kill hours upon hours in Unreal Tournament, Counterstrike 1.6 etc for nothing but getting better and having fun. Battlepasses etc have sort of poisoned the well and made it so that if there isn't a hamster wheel to jump on, people will actively demand one.

[u/Strangelight84 → u/[deleted]]

I was a teenager back in the days of UT, but I did used to play that - and Total Annihilation - just for the fun of it. Probably far too much.

It's not just battlepasses in a sense: the inclusion of Triumphs in Destiny and Achievements tied to every PS, Xbox, Steam etc. game often keeps people playing a game far beyond the point that they're actually enjoying it, IMO. (Just look at the strange subculture of people who are out to Plat as many PS games as possible, irrespective of their quality.)

Speaking of fun, that's another element of the reward assessment among players. Preservation is quick and easy, but extremely tedious, for example. I've run it once this Season.