For some players who have been playing Destiny for long enough to have maxed out their characters, the only thing keeping them returning to the game is Crucible matches, but problems with lag can be enough to send even the most die-hard players to another game. Obviously, developer Bungie wants to avoid this at all costs.
When the latest expansion to the game, The Taken King, was launched last year, it brought with it a new system to evaluate player skill, Bungie community manager DeeJ wrote in a blog post earlier this week. Since then, the company has been tweaking matchmaking to focus on both skill and connectivity, in order to ensure challenging matches that are relatively lag-free.
“In light of recent feedback from the community, it’s very clear that we have more work to do,” Deej wrote. “As that work progresses, I’d also like to pledge that you’ll be more included in that process.”
Yesterday, the limited-time Iron Banner Crucible mode returned to Destiny, complete with the new Rift game type added in The Taken King. Starting today at 10 am PT, Bungie will be deploying new matchmaking settings, which will be exclusive to Iron Banner to start.
The new matchmaking settings will focus even more on good connections, hopefully ensuring that players “don’t have to spend an eternity in orbit while the matchmaking engine works behind the scenes.” Bungie will be monitoring the situation closely, and is asking players to share their feedback.
With the recent report that the sequel to Destiny is farther off than initially thought, Bungie has its work cut out for it if it wants players to stick around. While the company has been adding smaller updates like the recent Sparrow Racing League, more is needed to keep players returning.
Bungie seems to hope that involving players in decisions more will make them more likely to stick around. “This is the continuation of a conversation in which you influence the development of Destiny,” DeeJ wrote.
If you’re looking to try out the new matchmaking, The Iron Banner runs until February 2.
