Bungie rolls back controversial Destiny matchmaking changes
"It's very clear that we have more work to do."
Bungie has said it will reverse the controversial matchmaking changes it recently introduced to Destiny.
Players have reported a significant increase in lag ever since Bungie quietly tweaked its servers in December. The change to skill-based matchmaking in Destiny now favours finding similarly-matched opponents rather than a match where everyone has a good connection.
Bungie's intention was to stop less-skilled players getting stomped by competitive fireteams. But this also left those who are highly-skilled at Crucible - frequently also part of the game's vocal hardcore community - matched with skilled opponents who also had terrible connections.
The fact this change was not announced at the time has been a real point of contention among the game's hardcore. This week's Iron Banner event - designed to appeal to that hardcore - will see these recent matchmaking changes revoked.
"In light of recent feedback from the community, it's very clear that we have more work to do," Destiny community manager Deej wrote in a blog post last night. "As that work progresses, I'd also like to pledge that you'll be more included in that process. The next step on that front begins with this Iron Banner.
"Lord Saladin's battle for the Spark will feature new matchmaking settings that will assign more emphasis to connection quality. These changes will be made in an effort to reduce lag. There will still be some consideration given to matching you with worthy adversaries, but that's a thing we've done since Destiny first shipped."
The first day of Iron Banner will retain Destiny's current matchmaking system before switching over after 24 hours. This will allow Bungie to compare data from before and after.
In addressing the changes, Bungie also promised it was listening to its community and would be more transparent in future.
"If all goes well, we intend to deploy the new matchmaking settings to more Crucible playlists over time. And, in keeping with this trend, we'll be sure to let you know.
"This is the continuation of a conversation in which you influence the development of Destiny," Deej concluded. "Stay tuned for updates."
Yesterday, I wrote about how the goodwill Bungie earned from last September's The Taken King expansion had now completely evaporated. Destiny's community is now calling out for Bungie to be transparent about what will and won't launch in 2016, prompted by a reported delay for Destiny 2.
Today, Deej has said he is working on another update that will address these issues in an attempt to better inform the game's community.